


Hand in Hand in Hand

by Merrily_Merrily



Series: Answer [5]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-11-12 05:51:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18005054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merrily_Merrily/pseuds/Merrily_Merrily
Summary: The Angels dissect everything about Yuri's life, even the way he holds JJ's hand.





	Hand in Hand in Hand

**Author's Note:**

> This fic technically occurs within the Cast me Gently/Gray and Old timeline, but can most certainly be read on its own.

Yuri sits on a bench scowling at his phone, scrolling through a bunch of fangirl nonsense with one hand while he uses his thumb to twist his engagement ring around his finger on the other.

“What’s that face for?” JJ asks, stepping off of the ice to take a long drink from his water bottle.

“I hate people,” Yuri grumbles.

“You have a new reason for that or is this just more of the same?”

With an impatient huff, Yuri glances up and meets JJ’s cheerful grin with an ever deepening frown. He holds JJ’s gaze for a few moments, then sighs heavily and glances off to the side, unwilling to let JJ’s stupid handsome face lure him into a better mood until he decides he’s done being cranky and annoyed. Yuri glares at nothing instead, except his attention is focused in the direction of one of the junior skaters, who seems to think he’s provoked Yuri somehow, scampering off with a ill-disguised squeak of fear. Yuri might feel a little guilty for it if he had the capacity for guilt right now.

“Do you think I’m clingy?” he asks, voice low and vaguely hostile.

JJ shrugs in Yuri’s peripheral vision. “No more clingy than I am.”

Yuri sighs again and leans against the wall behind him, head tipped back to direct his glare up at the rafters instead. JJ takes another long swig off water, then sets the bottle aside and plops down onto the bench next to him, careful not to touch yet, but close enough that either of them could easily tangle their arms together.

Which Yuri would gladly do, if he wasn’t currently stewing in annoyance over that very thing.

Carefully, JJ says, “Why do you ask?”

Rather than answer, Yuri hands JJ his phone.

He’s left one of his own fan pages up, where the Angels are currently discussing what they claim is one of his most common, and therefore most notable, mannerisms. They’ve conducted similar conversations for years, about his standoffish posture and the manner in which he’s styled his hair on any given day, or the way he moves his hands, or certain tones of voice during interviews. The Angels have made attempts to decipher everything he’s ever done since the moment his name meant anything within the figure skating community. They’ve been at least partially correct on more occasions than Yuri cares for.

This time, they’ve compiled a number of pictures of him with JJ over the last year and a half, from their first appearance after going public about their relationship, to their arrival at the hotel during Skate Canada last year, to a quiet walk they took together just a few days ago. The Angels squeal and gush over every single one of them, drawing attention to Yuri’s hold on JJ — their fingers twined together, while Yuri’s opposite hand clutches JJ’s arm.

They all comment with various forms of “Yurochka’s so sweet” and “I just adore how clingy he is with JJ.”

Yuri slouches down on the bench and scowls out at the ice.

JJ laughs and fails to restrain a soft “Awww” under his breath. He continues to scroll. Yuri doesn’t have to look at him to know which goofy smile has overtaken JJ’s expression. After the next low, poorly repressed snicker, Yuri jabs at JJ with his elbow. JJ responds by slinging an arm around Yuri’s shoulders, pulling him tight against his side.

“What’s so wrong with this?” JJ asks, like he doesn’t understand what Yuri could possibly be so irritated about.

“They’re saying I’m clingy,” Yuri says.

“So?”

Yuri ducks his head and glares again, hiding behind a curtain of hair. He slumps against JJ and picks at a spot on his own thigh, repeatedly pinching and pulling the fabric of his leggings before releasing it. He knows he shouldn’t care what the Angels are saying, especially since none of them are being negative about it, but he can’t help that he still acts with resentment every time they take to social media to point out something even remotely “sweet” about his behavior.

At some point, they’ll _have_ to get tired of it. If he has to see this bullshit online even after he reaches the grand old age of eighty, he’ll go insane if he hasn’t already by then.

“You don’t think I’m clingy too?” JJ prompts him.

“At home you are,” Yuri grumbles. “Not out in public. Not like that.”

“Well, that’s ‘cause you and I are different people.”

Yuri exhales a gust of air, then finally drops his head onto JJ’s shoulder. He very purposefully grabs JJ’s hand and laces their fingers together, as if to prove he doesn’t really care what anyone has to say about anything.

Of _course_ they’re different people. JJ thrives on attention. He always has. He’s eager and genial and open to meeting new people. He loves to greet and interact with their fans, he has no problem socializing at banquets or other such events, and he’s generally unbothered by the constant scrutiny, so long as it’s fair and unbiased and no one is spreading bullshit lies. His confidence is more than bravado. He is genuinely at ease with most social situations, even when he doesn’t make as good of an impression as he wants.

Yuri, on the other hand, would prefer to avoid as much attention as possible, until such a time as he decides on his own to let people in. He hates the activity and the noise inherent in large crowds. He hates the rude staring and the gossiping and the frequent intrusions into his life. He still lurks in the corners of the room at banquets, even if he only attends as JJ’s guest these days, playing games on his phone or watching cat videos until JJ or their friends drag him into one of their regular dance offs. The Angels still grate on his nerves more often than not. Sure, they’re more tolerable than they used to be, but that doesn’t mean he wants them dissecting his entire life all over social media.

“Are you embarrassed by it?” JJ asks, giving Yuri’s hand a gentle squeeze.

“No,” Yuri says.

And it’s true; he isn’t. He’s done enough grossly sweet things with JJ — in public _and_ shared by his own choosing online — that he’s grown immune to the uncertainty he once experienced in all matters of affection. JJ makes him feel safe in a world that often seems too big, loved in a world that tends to prove itself unfair. Yuri doesn’t care if everyone knows that. Not anymore. It might be a strange turn of events when one considers where they began, but Yuri’s had enough time to settle in and figure out his comfort zone.

“It’s just stupid,” he continues. “Why don’t they find something better to do? Aren’t they bored of it all by now?”

His head is jostled slightly when JJ’s shoulders rise in a shallow shrug. “They’ll never be bored as long as they’re still learning new things about you.”

Yuri scoffs but doesn’t otherwise respond.

More than anything — more than the shrieking and the grasping hands, more than the watchful eyes and the mild stalking that still occurs, Yuri hates how often the Angels notice things about him that he never even noticed himself. He could have gone the rest of his life without realizing how he grasps JJ’s hand and arm at once, if it weren’t for the Angels and their eagle-eyed gaze. Now he won’t be able to go out anywhere with JJ without being conscious of it the entire time.

After a few moments of silence, JJ drops a kiss onto Yuri’s hair. “If it bothers you, just post something sassy and take control of the conversation.”

Yuri lifts his head to direct his frown at JJ again. By the sweet smile on JJ’s face, he expects JJ views his frowning as pouting.

He most certainly is _not_ pouting. He doesn’t _do_ pouting.

JJ presses a gentle kiss onto his lips anyway. “Don’t worry, babe. You’re still a badass.”

Yuri snorts and rolls his eyes. “Hardly.”

Maybe he is, or maybe he never was. It doesn’t matter all that much now.

After one last lingering kiss, JJ passes Yuri’s phone back to him and hops off of the bench.

“Are you gonna keep sitting there frowning over your phone or are you gonna come skate with me?” he asks.

Yuri glances at his phone in a bid to look disinterested. “You should be practicing. Get back out there before Mom starts harassing you.”

“So mean,” JJ fakes a complaint, sticking out his bottom lip in an exaggerated manner. When Yuri looks up to meet him with slightly narrowed eyes, JJ snaps to attention and lifts his hand in a salute. “Yes, sir. Back to practice.”

His laughter carries behind him as he steps out onto the ice.

Yuri stares after him fondly for a minute or two, then returns his attention to the nonsense on his phone. He taps his thumb against the side of it as he considers an appropriate response. No matter what he says, the Angels will continue to babble about the same stupid shit for days on end, and then again every time there’s another picture added to their already vast collection. He could ignore it and try to go about his life as if he never saw any of it, but there’s always a chance one of his fans will bring it to him directly.

Better to get it over with before then.

With another heavy sigh, Yuri copies the link to the blog post that started it all. He pastes it into a tweet, adds his own comment to the matter, and posts it to an immediate outpouring of likes, retweets, and comments.

> **Ice Tiger** @yuriplisetsky  
>  You’re just jealous he’s mine


End file.
